North Ridgeville to continue trash pickup with Republic Services

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — More than 11,000 households will continue to have their trash and recyclables picked up by Republic Services for the next five years under terms of a pending contract extension.

The contract extension, which City Council will consider next week, calls for an extension of an original contract dating to 2009 when the city began a dual trash-recyclables pick-up program.

Residents will continue to pay their monthly trash collection rates of $22.96 through 2014, according to Mayor David Gillock.

“The way the contract was originally written in 2009 allows for five one-year extensions, and we wanted to take all five,” Gillock said.

Monthly charges to residents will go up to $17.35 for 2015 and 2016 under terms of the contract, which then calls for rates to rise to $18 a month in 2017 and 2018.

Residents will save 65 cents a month and $1.30 a month in 2014 and 2015, respectively, under terms of the re-worked contract package, Gillock said.

As originally discussed, the agreement called for annual increases in residential trash and recyclable pickup in each of the coming five years, but a decision was reached to freeze rates in 2014 under terms of the revised package, Gillock said.

The current contract called for residents to pay $17.50 a month for trash and recyclable collection. Residents also have been paying a $2.50 fuel surcharge, which covers Republic Services’ gas costs.

Part of the city’s rationale for staying with Republic, which formerly was known as Allied Waste, was to keep rates low, according to the mayor.

“When we negotiated with them before, they were the most competitive by far,” Gillock said. “If we had to go out for bids now, all rates would definitely have been higher.”

Another major change in the offing is a move to collect all of the city’s trash and recyclables on one day instead of two.

“Right now, they pick up all trash on Monday and Tuesday, but their goal is to go to one day within a few months,” Gillock said.